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James Kelly (footballer, born 1865)

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James Kelly
Personal information
Full name James Kelly
Date of birth (1865-10-15)15 October 1865
Place of birth Renton, Scotland
Date of death 20 February 1932(1932-02-20) (aged 66)
Place of death Blantyre, Scotland
Position(s) Centre-half
Youth career
Renton Wanderers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1883–1888 Renton
1888–1897 Celtic 103 (3)
International career
1888–1893 Scotland 9 (2)
1893–1897 Scottish League XI 7 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

James Kelly (15 October 1865 – 20 February 1932) was a Scottish footballer who played for Renton, Celtic and Scotland.

At Renton, his hometown club, Kelly had won the Scottish Cup twice (1885 and 1888), as well as a beaten finalist in 1886[1] and a 'World Champion' after they defeated West Bromwich Albion in an 1888 challenge match.[2]

Converted from an inside forward to a centre-half of attacking bent in what was an important evolution in tactics developed at Renton,[3] he was the first Celtic captain, playing in their first-ever match, a 5–2 win against Rangers in May 1888 (less than two weeks after playing in Renton's World Championship game). He added to his medal collection with another Scottish Cup in 1892 alongside former Renton teammate Neil McCallum, becoming the first players to win the competition with two different clubs. Kelly also won the Scottish Football League title in 1892–93, 1893–94 and 1895–96 (and reached three other cup finals, albeit losing them all), playing a major role in the establishment of Celtic as one of the leading clubs in the country.[4]

He was capped nine times by Scotland and scored twice.[5][6] He also appeared seven times for the Scottish League XI.[7] After retiring as a player, Kelly became a director of Celtic, serving as chairman between 1909 and 1914.[6]

His descendants Bob Kelly,[8] Michael Kelly and Kevin Kelly also became Celtic directors;[6] a son, Frank also briefly played for the club prior to his death in World War I, and in 1934 another Celtic player Willie Hughes married James Kelly's daughter Bridie, two years after he died.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ Renton Crowned World Champions, A Sporting Nation, BBC Scotland
  3. ^ The Cross, Scots Football Worldwide
  4. ^ (Celtic player) Kelly, James, FitbaStats
  5. ^ "[Scotland player] James Kelly". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  6. ^ a b c James Kelly, The Celtic Wiki
  7. ^ "[SFL player] James Kelly". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
  8. ^ "Sir Robert Kelly, supreme football administrator". The Glasgow Herald. 22 September 1971. p. 5. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  9. ^ Celtic Player Weds, newspaper scan, 1934, via The Celtic Wiki
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